Councillor Kevin Bentley has hit back at campaigners calling for his resignation following the closure of Chelmsford's Army and Navy flyover amid safety fears, claiming he acted in the public's "best interest".

Essex County Council had issued reassurances that "qualified and experienced" engineers were "confident" in the safety of the flyover just days early however the closure, implemented at 9pm on Tuesday evening, will now last until "futher notice."

Despite fierce criticism from councillors and campaigners, Cllr Bentley claims he will stay put, insisting he remained “open and honest” with the public throughout.

A recent inspection of the flyover revealed that a column shifted on its base despite three weeks of repairs earlier this summer.

Chelmsford’s Liberal Democrat group and the Say No to BUSGATE campaign criticised the council for what they say is “unacceptable” initial repair work, which took the integral flyover out of action over the summer holidays.

The flyover at the Army and Navy roundabout has been closed to all traffic

The flyover, which is operated by Ringway Jacobs and is contracted by Essex County Council, was closed for three weeks for planned maintenance work. However, Liberal Democrat Councillor Mark Springett said he was “shocked” by the repairs, claiming there were cracks in the structure just a couple of weeks after work finished.

Cllr Springett, along with other Liberal Democrat party members in the city, started a petition calling for an immediate inspection, and now, he has said that Kevin Bentley, Essex County Council's Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Infrastructure, should stand aside.

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"The fact that Kevin Bentley is responsible for the flyover, that he is responsible for public safety and the condition of the flyover, the fact that public concern has mounted, I think he needs to look at resigning almost immediately.

"It is such a serious situation that I think he has no other option than to resign.

Closure of Army and Navy Flyover on September 12.

“My overall view is that the integrity of the flyover is now very much in question and therefore the flyover poses a risk to the health and safety of the public, not just using the flyover but travelling or walking underneath it."

In a new statement, Essex County Council said:

"The Army and Navy flyover will close to all traffic after recent damage to part of the structure was revealed during an inspection.

"During the inspection, carried out by highways engineers, it was confirmed that at some point during the past few weeks one of the columns has shifted slightly on its base. This now requires further investigation to fully understand the cause of the damage and if there are implications for the safety of the structure.

"The closure will enable an independent inspection of the structure to be brought forward. The flyover will not be reopened until this work has been completed. The supporting column will also be reinforced in the coming days.

"In the meantime, drivers are reminded that there are likely to be added delays around the Army and Navy roundabout, and to consider alternative routes if possible."

Essex County Council said it had previously made targeted concrete repairs, re-fixed the drainage strips at the ends of the deck sections, cleared and repaired drains taking rainwater off the road surface, cleared weeds from the kerbs and carried out work to re-surface the roads to improve skid resistance.

To act as an additional safety precaution, the council also reduced the speed limit from 30mph to 20mph.

The Great Baddow East Neighbourhood Association have been long-standing critics of the safety of the flyover and had previously joined Liberal Democrat councillors in calling for an urgent independent inspection.

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Dave Oldershaw, from the group said: “It doesn’t surprise us at all that Essex County Council were never prepared to listen to us.

“In GBENA, we have a really good group. We have got scientists, we’ve got people with engineering backgrounds, these people aren’t stupid.

“We’ve complained about the shifted column for weeks but they didn’t want to listen to us and stuck their heads in the sand.“How can anyone trust Kevin Bentley after he has continuously said there was nothing wrong with it? He needs to step aside."

Cllr Mark Springett at the flyover

In a prepared statement delivered at the flyover just hours after the closure was announced, a spokesman for the group added: "We've raised concerns over the last few weeks and Cllr Bentley has continually publicly stated that the flyover is structurally sound and perfectly safe.

"He is personally responsible for this, the buck stops with him, and we believe he has been playing with people's safety, which in light of recent events in Italy, is unacceptable.

"We think he should be seriously considering his position."

Responding to calls for his resignation, Councillor Kevin Bentley said that he feels he has been "open and honest" with the public throughout and instead claimed he was the victim of "politically-motivated" attacks.

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He said: “I have acted in the best interest of the public knowing full well the flyover was safe two weeks ago.

“In July , that column was in place, now it is not. We are trying to get to the bottom of what has happened within the last two weeks. We have civil engineers who advise me on this and we must listen to them.

“Something clearly happened to the flyover in the last couple of months which caused one of the columns to move slightly, enough that our civil engineers have decided it would be best to close the bridge while we apply the struts underneath.

“This is a motivated campaign by a political party in Chelmsford, I have to rely on experts who give me advice.

Protestors at the Army and Navy flyover

“In particular, a city councillor has been quite vocal about it. Now I do not know what civil engineers they have, but I have some of the best in the country.

“I think I was telling the truth, I have been open and honest with the public.

“I know it is going to cause some disruption for people but public safety is priority. There are some alternatives, people can use the park and ride schemes, but what is most important is that people are safe.

“The flyover was safe, people have been using it for 40 years. I would not open a flyover that was not safe.